fandomhigh | Young Entrepreneurs; Monday, Period 6 [ 02/16 ].

Nothing icky or awful seemed to have happened last weekend, so Turtle felt like she was on her game as she rapped her gavel to get the attention of everyone so the meeting could get started.

"Okay," she said, "we're more than halfway through February already and need to get cracking on some business. Anyone can sit around, eating pie and donuts and talking about business, but until you're actually selling something, you're not going to be an entrepreneur. Today, I was hoping we could talk about really wrangling down some firm ideas on what product or service to provide this semester to raise money for the club and ourselves. I know an Fandom Event Emergency Kit was mentioned at one point; there might be something there. Were there any other thoughts? And if we stick with the kits, what would we put in them and how do we make them better than if our consumers just went to the store to get the same things? Because, trust me, I own that store, I know they there's unlikely to be anything in those kits that they can't get there."

There was a pause.

"Unless the kits were filled with duct tape, anyway."

Darn you, elusive duct tape orders!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ideas and thoughts and discussion for a product or service go here!

"Well, like you said earlier, the kits would be hard because who knows what should go in it with something as unique as this place," Ned said. "So, maybe save that as a backup plan unless we can decide on the basics of what would help? What kinds of things go over well here? Food, coffee, television, laziness, nakedness, sex."

Ignore that blush. Really.

"I don't think there's enough of us for a calendar like the frat did," he said. Never mind he'd neeeeeever do that sort of thing without turning the color of a tomato. "Coupon books?"

After all that, Ned hated that he couldn't come up with a better suggestion.

Leto assumed that addictive drugs were out of the question, even if Turtle had seemed to grasp that business concept.

"What are the uses of duct tape? Is it essential to survival?"

"Not essential," Turtle offered, "but it's pretty darn handy. It's said to be able to fix almost anything, if you're ingenuous enough. I think that might have been how the whole duct tape void at Turtle & Canary got started; the guy who owned it before Jane and me didn't want to sell it because then he'd never sell anything else. But that's just a theory."

"In that case," Leto said, "If we limit duct tape supply people will either find other items to fill the void or buy duct tape at ridiculous prices. And as your shop is the sole supplier on this island, it will require an effort to go somewhere else to find it."

Turtle grinned a little. "You certainly have got a grasp on it," she said, "although the facts are a bit wrong. I'm definitely far from the only supplier in town; I'm just the supplier with the best quality for the best prices in town."

At this point, the oh-so-subtle advertisements were just as natural to Turtle as breathing.

"Ah." He smiled a little. "So control of an essential commodity isn't easily achieveable?"

Turtle shook her head. "Not really; not in a free-market economy, any way, and, to be quite honest, I'm glad for it. I wouldn't want a monopoly; if you control everything, there's absolutely no thrill of the competition, no real cut-throat drive to be the best. I applaud and encourage competition. Keeps you at the top of your game." Turtle quirked an eyebrow at the end, as if deciding that the statement was, in fact, a challenge, although part of her brain was wondering if she was entirely talking about distribution of commodities anymore.

"Yes, competition can certainly have that effect." He gave Turtle a curious look. "But what if what is needed in emergencies isn't actually physical goods but intellectual concepts and methods."

"Those," Turtle said, returning Leto's curious look and adding to it a little bit of intrigue, especially if he wasn't just thinking outloud and had something more in mind, "are a little bit harder to package and manufacture and sell."

Leto looked straight at Turtle, smiling cheerfully. "I thought you liked challenges."

Turtle snorted a laugh. "I like challenges to have a little more of an outline beyond an base idea before I tackle them. There's a difference between challenging yourself and trying to tackle something that just isn't going to work because you go into it blind without thinking."

"The challenge might lie partly in letting your mind pursue a path it has never before paid much attention to." He leaned back in his chair. "And I would never suggest putting a plan into action that hadn't been properly considered and mapped out beforehand."

Alice lifted her shoulders. "We're selling them convenience, for one point, aren't we?" she suggested. "Certainly, they could go all the way to your store in town, to purchase these items after they're required, but they might not think of all the items which they might need. An emergency means time is of the essence; making one trip is burdensome enough, and two would be frustrating. Better to have the kit, before, and know that one is covered."

That sounded like it could be worked into an ad slogan.

Turtle nodded a little. "Exactly. The only problem I really see in the idea is being able to predict exactly what items would even go in it. Fandom Emergencies are hardly predictable, with the exception of a few things that I can categorically say seem to happen regularly, having gone through as many of them as I have."

"Perhaps we should approach the problem from the opposite angle," Alice mused. "If Fandom happened to toss oddities at one, what would one need to cope effectively? Water, in case the supply is damaged. Sustenance: a small amount of food that will keep. Bandages, for the injured."

Alice had a rather more dire view of emergency events than most.

"And how do we plan to market this as more than just a glorified first aid kit?"

Because that's what it was sounding like to Turtle so far.

"I wasn't suggesting that was all that should be within it," Alice said lightly. "Only that those basics should be included, in case the emergency is particularly severe."

Turtle nodded. "Any other ideas, then? All that stuff is kind of basic."

"Basics are important, too," Alice said with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't ask that we omit those. Very well. Gremlin repellent. Glitter. Some of those contraceptive items. Earplugs. An ID card with one's full name and proper identity. Undergarments for the opposite sex. And a bottle of very strong spirits."

Young Entrepreneurs; Monday, Period 6 [ 02/16 ].

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